Kershaw extends his scoreless streak to 36

DENVER – When D.J. LeMahieu singled off Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw in the fourth inning Friday night, the Colorado Rockies might have been tempted to interrupt the game and present the ball to LeMahieu in a brief but tasteful ceremony.

The Rockies continue to have a front-row seat for Kershaw’s summer of dominance as he rolled over them for another eight scoreless innings in a 9-0 Dodgers victory Friday night.

Kershaw allowed just two singles, walked one and struck out eight while extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 36. Only two pitchers in Dodgers history have had longer scoreless streaks – Orel Hershiser's 59 innings in 1988 and Don Drysdale's 58 innings in 1968. Both were major-league records at the time. Hershiser's still stands.

“I mean, it’s great. You don’t ever want to give up a run so I guess that’s the goal,” Kershaw said, as outwardly unimpressed by himself as he has been unhittable to the Rockies.

During the scoreless streak, Kershaw has held opposing batters to a .130 average (16 for 123) with nearly three times as many strikeouts (45) as hits allowed.

Tack on Kershaw's unbeaten run through June and he is 7-0 in his past seven starts with four runs allowed in 52 innings (a 0.69 ERA), 69 strikeouts and five walks.

Asked about Kershaw before the game, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly refused to gush about Kershaw’s recent run (including no-hitting the Rockies two weeks ago), saying “he’s pretty much been like that for a few years now. … It’s not like anyone’s sitting there, going, ‘What’s happening with Clayton – he’s pitching good all of a sudden?’”

Mattingly stuck with that stance even after Friday’s string of zeroes.

“You have to acknowledge it’s special as far as not giving up a run in a long time,” Mattingly said. “I think you all know what I mean – with Clayton it seems like it’s this all the time. It’s not always zeroes but it’s pretty much going eight and pretty dominating for the most part.

“Obviously zero-zero-zero he’s not going to be able to continue that forever. But it’s pretty normal stuff from him.”

This latest example of Kershaw’s excellence actually began after some very abnormal stuff for him. Since a mid-May debacle in Arizona (seven runs in 12/3 innings), Kershaw is 8-1 with seven runs allowed in 65 innings over nine starts (a 0.97 ERA) with 87 strikeouts, just nine walks and a .160 average for opposing batters.

“Any time he takes the mound he’s capable of the kind of run he’s been on,” Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. “To be able to consistently do it for seven, eight, nine starts in a row – that’s the best word to describe Clayton is consistency. Just the way he handles himself on the field, the way he handles himself off the field, he’s just a consistent person. This stretch is a great indication of that.”

It’s also a great indication of what Kershaw can do when he’s throwing his slider and curveball at optimal levels.

The Rockies are well aware of that. LeMahieu’s single ended a run of 131/3 hitless innings for them against Kershaw. They managed just one more hit, and Rockies center fielder Drew Stubbs called Kershaw’s slider the best pitch in baseball right now.

“I think the biggest thing during this stretch is the consistency of his breaking pitches,” Ellis said. “Most of the time, he’ll have his ‘A’ slider but just his ‘C’ or ‘D’ curveball or vice versa. … During this run he’s had his ‘A’ slider and his ‘A’ curveball, and they’re both electric strikeout pitches.”

Kershaw even matched the Rockies hit for hit. He had two singles in the Dodgers’ season-high 19-hit barrage. In fact, every player in the Dodgers’ starting lineup had at least one hit off Rockies starter Jair Jurrjens before they drove him from the game – and to a hospital with breathing issues – in the fifth inning.

Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke each had home runs. Puig's was his first since May 28 after a stretch of 33 games and 139 plate appearances without one.